Edmonton, Canada – AccelerateAB, Alberta’s flagship technology conference, is ecstatic to announce Dr. Richard Sutton, a global pioneer in the field of Artificial Intelligence (A.I.) as the closing keynote speaker. Presented by BDC, Dr. Sutton will talk about some of the significant advancements and recent innovations happening in the sector.

Dr. Sutton has been instrumental in helping the University of Alberta (U of A) become the world’s academic leader in reinforcement learning. He is a pioneer in A.I., a distinguished Research Scientist with DeepMind, a Professor of Computer Science with AMII at the U of A, as well as the Chair of iCORE. His keynote presentation, ‘Beyond the Hype: The Impact of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning’, will touch on his research around how machines are better at starting to predict a label or classification using deep-learning.

Often there is fear and mistrust associated with artificial intelligence. Contrary to this popular narrative of A.I.’s potential implications, Dr. Sutton believes differently.

“A.I. is important in business and technology because of its usefulness as a tool that can enhance human abilities and make us more effective at what we do. It’s very human-centric in that way. Furthermore, the province has invested more than $40 million into A.I. research and training, which has built a critical mass of expertise at the University of Alberta over the past 15 years. In that same time, we’ve seen Edmonton’s startup community blossom. There’s a critical mass building in Alberta, and A.I. is at the forefront,” commented Dr. Sutton.

AccelerateAB supports and celebrates the best of Alberta’s technology and startup ecosystem. “As an industry, it’s important for us to showcase that there is an active sector that has been quietly thriving in this province for some time,” says Cynthia van Sundert, Executive Director of The A100. “The fact that we have A.I. industry rockstar s like Dr. Sutton in our backyard is a perfect example of why AccelerateAB is a significant industry event – we can shine a spotlight on these innovators. We are very honoured to have him as our closing keynote at this year’s event.”

AccelerateAB kicks off with the Startup Advising Sessions on Monday, April 23rd, 2018. The main conference takes place the next day – Tuesday April 24th, 2018 at the Shaw Conference Centre in Edmonton. Tickets are available on the AccelerateAB website.

AccelerateAB is the province’s annual flagship technology event that brings together key leaders, investors, influencers and supporters of Alberta’s fast-growing startup community, with the goal of leveraging the success of the next generation of technology entrepreneurs across the province. Backed by some of the most high-profile and successful leaders in the industry and spearheaded by The A100, AccelerateAB is one of the best connected events in the province. www.AccelerateAB.com | @AccelerateAB

About BDC:

BDC is the only bank devoted exclusively to entrepreneurs. It promotes Canadian entrepreneurship with a focus on small and medium-sized businesses. With its 118 business centres from coast to coast, BDC provides businesses in all industries with financing and advisory services. Its investment arm, BDC Capital, offers equity, venture capital and flexible growth and transition capital solutions. BDC is also the first financial institution in Canada to receive B Corp certification. To find out more, visit bdc.ca.